Written Answers Wednesday 12 August 2009

Scottish Executive

Drug Misuse

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Drugs Strategy Delivery Commission was established.

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when meetings of the Drugs Strategy Delivery Commission have taken place and whether minutes of these meetings are available.

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how often the Drugs Strategy Delivery Commission will meet.

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive who sits on the Drugs Strategy Delivery Commission.

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether members of the Drugs Strategy Delivery Commission receive remuneration for their participation and, if so, what the total costs of that remuneration are.

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when and how often the Drugs Strategy Delivery Commission will report on its findings.

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any working groups or sub-groups will be established under the Drugs Strategy Delivery Commission and, if so, what these will be.

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale is for the (a) work and (b) existence of the Drugs Strategy Delivery Commission.

Fergus Ewing: On 20 April 2009, I announced that a new body would be established, building on the Scottish Advisory Committee on Drugs Misuse, with a clear remit to oversee the successful implementation of the drugs strategy. The new body would be named the Drugs Strategy Delivery Commission and would have a greater degree of independence from government, with an independent chair. People would be invited to sit on the Drugs Strategy Delivery Commission because of their personal expertise and experience; these would be unpaid appointments.

  We are currently finalising arrangements for the new commission; no meetings have yet taken place. It will be for the new commission to decide its plan of work and how that work will be reported (including the publication of minutes and findings). It is envisaged that the commission will meet approximately quarterly and that it will be able to establish sub-groups on specific subjects, as well as developing appropriate links with existing groups including the National Evidence Group and the Drug-Related Deaths Group.

Employment

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives have been introduced to provide employment assistance to 16 to 18-year-olds in the last 12 months.

Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-25946, on 11 August 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Employment

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives have been introduced to provide employment assistance to over 25-year-olds in the last 12 months.

Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W–25949, on 11 August 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.apsx .

Employment

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives have been introduced in the east end of Glasgow to provide employment assistance to over 25-year-olds in the last 12 months.

Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-25955, on 11 August 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/default.aspx .

Equalities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that equality impact assessments are applied, as outlined by the disability equality duty, to ensure that the needs of all disabled people are taken into account appropriately in the planning process of local authorities.

Alex Neil: All public bodies are subject to the requirements of the public sector duties set out in equalities legislation. It is expected therefore that councils will have due regard to the promotion of equality and elimination of discrimination in developing their strategic plans, but it is for councils to decide how they meet the duties.

Equalities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the implementation of the disability equality duty.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government is not responsible for monitoring the implementation of the disability equality duty. It is for individual organisations to ensure that they comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and disability equality duty. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is the body responsible for enforcing the DDA and the disability equality duty.

Finance

John Park (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is supporting investment in capital projects by businesses.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government and its agencies support businesses investing in capital projects through a number of grant schemes.

  Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) is our main national grant scheme to industry aimed at encouraging investment and job creation in Scotland. In 2008-09, businesses across a wide range of sectors accepted 88 offers of RSA totalling over £52.1 million. These offers relate to projects with planned capital expenditure of over £518.4 million and the expected creation or safeguarding of over 5000 jobs.

  Scottish Enterprise (SE) also supports both fixed and working capital investment by businesses in a variety of ways:

  Helping key businesses to seek funding from investors, banks etc, through an account management service and other business advisory services;

  Providing investment finance through three main funds – the Scottish Seed Fund, Scottish Co-investment Fund and Scottish Venture Fund;

  Providing property support to businesses through a number of EC approved schemes, including the Property Support Scheme, Support for Capital Investment and the Land Remediation Scheme. Through these schemes, SE can provide capital grants, loans and guarantees and can enter into joint ventures and other partnerships or collaborative projects.

  A range of support is available towards capital investment in energy efficiency measures:

  Energy Saving Scotland Small Business Loans scheme provides interest-free loans of between £1,000 and £100,000 for capital investment in energy efficiency measures and, as of December 2008, renewable technologies. Such measures help SME’s to save energy, cut carbon emissions and improve competitiveness.

  Our processing and marketing grant schemes for agriculture and fisheries products support capital investment by businesses involved in the food chain.

  From 1 April 2009, many Scottish businesses have also seen their rates bill removed or reduced through the Small Business Bonus Scheme. As noted by Andy Willox, Scottish Policy Convener of the Federation of Small Businesses, this is easing the well documented cash-flow worries for small businesses, releasing savings which can be reinvested in the business.

Housing

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will create greater awareness of the Landlord Registration Scheme among tenants and landlords.

Alex Neil: The legislation governing private landlords (the Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004) places a duty on local authorities to provide advice on general letting issues to landlords who apply for registration, and to tenants and prospective tenants who enquire about letting practice or landlord registration. In addition, many local authorities issue regular newsletters which are intended to keep the sector informed about the law and their responsibilities as landlords.

  We have provided each local authority with templates of guidance and advice leaflets for them to distribute and many offer this information on their websites. Most local authorities also provide their own publicity of the scheme.

  We will consider the options for increasing general awareness of the scheme through appropriate publicity and other means.

Housing

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the publication of the Inclusion Scotland report, Freedom of Information Research into Accessible Housing for Disabled People in Scotland , in June 2009, what is being done to ensure that local authorities hold adequate information on (a) the number of disabled people living in their area and (b) average waiting times for adapted homes.

Alex Neil: In March 2008, the Scottish Government published new guidance for local authorities on housing need and demand assessment. This provides a step-by-step approach to assessing housing need and demand across all tenures and includes advice on how to produce an estimate of need and demand amongst household groups who have specific housing requirements. Data and evidence on the housing needs of disabled people will be collected as part of this assessment.

  Local authorities are not required to record information on average waiting times for adapted homes, but some find it helpful to do so as part of their own monitoring processes.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report , completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, and what actions it intends to take as a result.

Kenny MacAskill: The final report of the Fife and Forth Valley Community Service Visibility Project contains a number of interesting findings and useful lessons, which potentially have application to other parts of Scotland. The report, and the government’s analysis of this and the other two pilot visibility projects, have therefore been sent to the other Community Justice Authorities and will be made publicly available shortly. The government’s analysis is available on the Scottish Government website and may be accessed at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/public-safety/offender-management/cja.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report , completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, how it intends to increase the (a) visibility of community service, (b) numbers and quality of requests for projects from the community and (c) level of public understanding and confidence in community service as a court disposal.

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, other than the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report , completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, what initiatives it is considering with a view to increasing the visibility of community service and increasing the level of public understanding and confidence in community service as a court disposal.

Kenny MacAskill: The National Strategy for Offender Management highlighted communication as one of its key themes. Protecting Scotland’s Communities , published in December 2008, continues this theme. In particular, we are working with the Community Justice Authorities to develop, in partnership with a range of key agencies, ways of engaging with communities in order to present factual information about what community sentences involve and how well they are performing. The Fife and Forth Valley Community Service Visibility project is one such initiative, one successful aim of which was to increase the number of requests from the community for projects.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report , completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, whether it has any concerns about the finding that 61.8% of individuals did not know Criminal Justice Services was part of Council Social Work Services in Scotland and, if so, what actions it intends to take.

Kenny MacAskill: We acknowledge that there is scope for improved public understanding of the work of criminal justice social work services. It forms part of the communications theme of the long-term coordinated Offender Management Programme now underway.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report , completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, whether it has any concerns about the finding that 73.6% of individuals are either "not very satisfied" or "not at all satisfied" that offenders receive adequate punishment and, if so, what actions it intends to take.

Kenny MacAskill: Sentencing decisions are a matter for the sentencing judge, who hears all the facts and circumstances surrounding the offence and the offender, and is able to take into account any factors which he or she considers to be relevant.

  While Scottish ministers can neither comment on nor intervene in the sentences imposed in individual cases, we do want to see greater consistency and transparency in the decisions of our courts. We believe that government has a responsibility to ensure that Scotland has the appropriate framework in place to promote fairness and justice in sentencing. In light of this, we have taken forward proposals for the creation of a Scottish Sentencing Council which will develop a system of sentencing guidelines. The provisions for the creation of the Sentencing Council are included in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill, which was published on 6 March 2009.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report , completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, what assessment it has made of the finding in relation to the type of work individuals think that people on Community Service should do, namely that (a) 87.7% of individuals thought that the work should be about help in the local community and (b) 57% thought offenders should improve their employment skills in the process, and what actions it intends to take as a result.

Kenny MacAskill: Our proposals in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill, which was published on 6 March 2009, include provisions for a flexible new Community Payback Order to tackle the causes of offending behaviour as well as responding to its effect. Courts will have the opportunity as part of such an order to impose one or more of a range of requirements on an offender, including any unpaid work and other activity requirement, which will provide opportunity for an offender to make payback to his or her local community and to get his or her life back on track. Different approaches will work best in different areas, but these are the underpinning principles on which we are seeking to develop the use of payback.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report , completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, what its response is to the finding that 82% of those sampled who believe that the community should have a say in the projects helped by the CSO Scheme and, if so, what actions it intends to take.

Kenny MacAskill: The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill will place a statutory duty on local authorities to consult each year with appropriate representatives of community groups/agencies on the types of reparative activities within the area to be undertaken by those sentenced to unpaid work and other activity requirement as part of a Community Payback Order. This will ensure that communities have an opportunity to have a say in the work carried out, so that those who offend are forced to do something which improves the local community which they have damaged.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report , completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, how much additional funding it plans to provide to community justice authorities in order to increase the visibility of community service and increase the level of public understanding and confidence in community service as a court disposal, broken down by community justice authority.

Kenny MacAskill: In March 2008, all Community Justice Authorities (CJAs) were invited to submit bids for challenge funding to support the delivery of innovative community service visibility projects. Three CJAs received the following funding for six months pilot exercises:

  Fife and Forth Valley - £13,530.

  Glasgow - £35,000.

  South West Scotland - £20,000.

  In addition, all CJAs have been provided with additional funding to support the delivery of credible and robust community service orders. In the 2009-10 financial year, injection of an additional £2 million for this purpose has been followed by a further £1.5 million. The additional funding broken down by individual CJA is as follows:

  

Community Justice Authority
Total Additional Allocations


Fife and Forth Valley
£425,320


Glasgow
£600,428


Lanarkshire
£579,487


Lothian and Borders
£369,624


Northern
£318,609


North Strathclyde
£441,330


South West Scotland
£486,745


Tayside
£263,039



  In the 2010-11 financial year, a further £4 million will be made available to CJAs for this purpose. Decisions on allocations to individual CJAs of the additional monies will be taken later this year, as announced in parliamentary question S3W-25144 on 3 July 2009.

  CJAs are responsible for taking decisions on the extent to which they would wish to use any of the additional funding made available for the purpose of improving the visibility of community service.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report , completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, which found that awareness of community service projects had increased from 52.7% to 64.3% as a result of the project, whether it considers this to be adequate improvement for the investment provided and, if not, what action it intends to take.

Kenny MacAskill: We consider that these figures show a significant improvement and we plan to build on these and other achievements identified by the end of the pilot project. The report, and the government’s analysis of this and the other two pilot visibility projects, have therefore been sent to the other Community Justice Authorities. The government’s analysis of the reports of the projects is available on the Scottish Government website and may be accessed at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/public-safety/offender-management/cja.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it agrees with the reported comments of Sheriff James Tierney that there are grounds for both public and judicial concern as to the management of community service orders in Aberdeen and, if so, what action it intends to take.

Kenny MacAskill: Sheriff Tierney’s comments arose from the circumstances of a specific community service order for which Aberdeen City Council was responsible. In addition to the particular circumstances of this case, the authority has encountered a number of operational difficulties in recent months arising from staffing shortages. We understand that additional staff have now been recruited and that a reduction in waiting times is anticipated.

  We remain committed to the development of community penalties. That is why earlier this year revised guidance was issued for the management of community service schemes and performance by local authorities against the new guidance will be monitored. We have also allocated an additional £5.5 million over the current and next financial years, specifically to allow improvement in the delivery of community service and in preparation for the introduction of Community Payback Orders.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22851 by Fergus Ewing on 23 June 2009 and following the recent audit of individual local authority performance of start and completion timescales in respect of community service orders, what targets have been set for local authorities and how many local authority areas are currently achieving targets for getting offenders (a) started on and (b) to complete community service orders, broken down by local authority area.

Kenny MacAskill: The audit referred to in the answer to S3W-22851 was designed to establish a baseline of existing levels of performance and the improvements which local authorities require to make to deliver against the revised guidelines for community service which came into effect from 1 June 2009. A follow-up audit based on performance in respect of start timescales for November 2009 and completion times for the last quarter of the calendar year 2009 will be carried out early in 2010 and the findings published. Local authorities are responsible for monitoring on an ongoing basis their own standards of performance.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answer to question S3W-22851 by Fergus Ewing on 23 June 2009, what assessment it has made of the recent audit of individual local authority performance of start and completion timescales in respect of community service orders.

Kenny MacAskill: The Community Service - Audit of Immediacy and Speed revealed a mixed picture of performance levels across local authorities. Certain authorities were performing well against the timescales set out in the National Standards then operable whilst for others the audit identified scope for significant improvement. A follow-up audit on start and completion timescales is due to be carried out early in 2010.

Planning

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to ensure that there is a fair, transparent and consistent policy across Scotland for the maintenance, adoption and upkeep of open spaces in private and housing association residential areas.

Fergus Ewing: Planning Advice Note (PAN) 65: Planning and Open Space was revised in May 2008 and provides advice to all planning authorities on a range of matters including open space management and maintenance. The PAN outlines several mechanisms available for providing for the long-term management and maintenance of open space in new development.

Planning

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to increase the number of Changing Places toilets for people with profound and multiple disabilities in light of research by the University of Dundee that identified the requirement for such facilities.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government was involved in the review of the UK good practice document, British Standard (BS) 8300: 2009, which addresses delivery of inclusive buildings, to provide design guidance on Changing Places toilets. Introducing this information within an established UK reference document assists both the awareness of the need for such facilities and the design of practical solutions.

  Whilst not mandated, Changing Places toilets are promoted as a further "good practice" issue within the introduction to standard 3.12 (sanitary facilities) of the Scottish Building Standards non-domestic technical handbook.

Planning

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it has done and what it plans to do to persuade commercial companies to adhere to the revised British Standard 8300, which includes design guidance for Changing Places toilet facilities.

Alex Neil: In 2006, the Scottish Government published a Planning Advice Note (PAN) 78: Inclusive Design to promote awareness of the benefits and means of delivering a more inclusive, accessible built environment. This document outlines roles and responsibilities in this respect and identifies sources of information, including British Standard (BS) 8300, which can assist in this process.

  Provision of Changing Places toilets is identified as a further good practice issue within the 2007 Scottish Building Standards. Whilst there is no statutory obligation to provide such facilities under building regulations, such information is highlighted to developers and owners for consideration in the planning of facilities within buildings.

  The Scottish Government was involved in the development of guidance on the provision of Changing Places toilets that now forms part of BS 8300: 2008, and remains involved in the ongoing development of this document and other sources of good practice guidance on accessibility of the built environment.

Planning

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its stated commitment to community participation and active citizenship for all, how it will work with supermarkets, hospitals, shopping and other large cultural and community centres to help them to provide Changing Places toilet facilities for people with profound and multiple disabilities.

Alex Neil: Organisations providing goods, facilities and services to the public must take steps to ensure that disabled people can access the services offered. Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, organisations must make "reasonable adjustments" to enable disabled people to access the goods, facilities and services offered.

  In 2006, the Scottish Government published a Planning Advice Note (PAN) 78: Inclusive Design to promote awareness of the benefits and means of delivering a more inclusive, accessible built environment. This document outlines roles and responsibilities in this respect and identifies sources of information, including British Standards (BS) 8300, which can assist in this process.

  The Scottish Government was also involved in the development of guidance on the provision of Changing Places toilets that now forms part of BS 8300: 2008, and remains involved in the ongoing development of this document and other sources of good practice guidance on accessibility of the built environment.

  Provision of Changing Places toilets is identified as a further good practice issue within the 2007 Scottish Building Standards. Whilst there is no statutory obligation to provide such facilities under building regulations, such information is highlighted to developers and owners for consideration in the planning of facilities within buildings.

Voluntary Sector

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive who will administer funding for individual projects under the Single Interface Programme for community and voluntary groups.

Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-25844 on 5 August 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .